Chemical Engineering
Animangsu Ghatak, PhD (Lehigh University)
Associate Professor
Research Interests: Adhesion and friction on soft interfaces, Fracture of soft thin sheets, Bio-inspired approaches in design of engineering materials
Email: aghatak[AT]iitk.ac.in
Ph: +91-512-259-7146
Website: http://home.iitk.ac.in/~aghatak/
Highly deformable, soft elastic, viscoelastic and poroelastic materials occur in many different applications e.g. soft tissues, artificial organs, therapeutic patches, shock absorbers, dampeners, platforms for micro-fluidic device, novel biomaterials in biology as stems, roots and leaves, sponges, cartilage layers and bones and so on and so forth. In this variety of situations these materials are exposed to many different forms of mechanical loads, e.g. tension, compression, torsion, bending which, due to the large deformability of these materials and their complex rheological character, can generate such responses which are different from that commonly observed with the liner elastic systems. An example of such a response is the kinking instability which occurs in a cylindrical rod of soft hydrogel when it is bent beyond a critical curvature. It is different from the commonly observed wrinkling instability in thin, soft films or blocks. In our laboratory we study these materials and associated phenomena in the context of adhesion, friction, fracture and failure.
Jayant K. Singh, PhD (Buffalo University - SUNY)
Associate Professor
Research Interests: Thermodynamics, Selective adsorption and separation, Energy storage materials, Wetting transition, Self assembly and crystallization at nanoscale.
Ph: +91-512-259- 6141
Email: jayantks[AT]iitk.ac.in
Website: http://home.iitk.ac.in/~jayantks
Our focus is to predict the structure, stability and dynamics of various fluids and their mixtures. In particular our interest is to apply and develop molecular simulation methodologies for bulk and confined fluids. To understand the phenomena at interfaces (for example, effect of reactive polymer on the interface adhesion of two immiscible polymers, orientation of solute particles at interface of associating fluids, water-air phase behavior under hydrophobic/hydrophilic surfaces etc) of pure and mixtures of fluids, we apply and develop methodologies within the framework of Molecular Dynamics, Monte Carlo Techniques, Dissipative Particle Dynamics and Brownian Dynamics. In this regard we have recently developed methods for estimating virial coefficient, free energy, pressure and interfacial tension.
Naveen Tiwari, PhD ( U of Massachusetts Amherst-USA)
Associate Professor
Research Interests: Transport Phenomena,Instabilities in micro-scale free surface flows, Flow through porous media.
Ph: +91-512-259-6751 (o)
Email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Website: http://www.iitk.ac.in/che/nt.htm
My research interest is in transport phenomena at small length scales. Current research work is primarily focused on the instabilities in driven micro-scale free surface flows over heterogeneous surfaces. The wetted face of the solid substrate can have heterogeneities such as non-uniform temperature, topographical variations, solid-liquid interactions and so on. These heterogeneities lead to fascinating behavior of the free surface of the thin liquid film. Understanding of the dynamics and instability of such thin liquid film flows can be critical for micro- and nano-applications. Theoretical and computational work is on-going to better understand the dynamics of such flows.
V.Shankar, PhD (IISc Bangalore)
Associate Professor
Research Interests: Stability of fluid flows, Rheology of complex fluids
Ph: +91-512- 259- 7377
Email: vshankar[AT]iitk.ac.in
Website: http://home.iitk.ac.in/~vshankar/
Research in our group is centered around the areas of fluid dynamics, rheology, transport and interfacial phenomena with a focus on microfluidic systems, biological flows, and meso-patterning applications. Specifically, we address issues related to hydrodynamic instabilities and their manipulation in these settings, for example, as a way to improve transport rates or as a precursor to formation of meso-scale patterns. We use a combination of analytic theory, numerical simulations and experimental observations in our research. Recent results from our group include a comprehensive study of instabilities in deformable tubes and rectangular channels, which have uncovered a host of new instabilities which are absent in rigid tubes and channels. Such instabilities could be potentially exploited in microfluidic devices for improving mixing. We use the spectral method extensively to determine the stability boundaries, and back this up with analytical calculations using asymptotic analyses in particular regimes. More information, including reprints of publications from our group can be found in http://home.iitk.ac.in/~vshankar
Sovan Lal Das, PhD (Cornell University)
Assistant Professor
Research Interest: Mechanics of Biological Membranes, Vibration and buckling of shells, Waves in tires.
Email: sovandas[AT]iitk.ac.in
Ph: +91-512- 259-7035(O)
Website: http://home.iitk.ac.in/~sovandas
Biologists and biophysicists have long been intrigued by bio-membranes that not only isolate cells and their internal compartments from one another, but also are important for the functionality of cells. However, due to the complicated nature of the cell membrane and the sizes of rafts being on nanometer-scale, it is extremely hard to conduct a systematic investigation. A simpler system in which the physical and chemical properties of lipid assembly can be studied is the bilayer membrane of a vesicle. Of particular importance and relevance to cell biology are the Giant Unilameller Vesicles (GUVs) with coexisting liquid ordered (lo) and liquid disordered (ld) domains. Currently, we are investigating various mechanical aspects of a membrane that influence cell functionality using GUV as a model system. The examples include: (1) influence of membrane curvatures on binding of certain proteins to lipid bilayer membrane and vice versa (with Dr. T. Baumgart), (2) Adhesion of multi-component membranes and effect of substrate geometry (with Prof. Q. Du), (3) Size sorting high deformable objects like lipid bilayer vesicles on a wrinkled substrates (with Dr. A. Ghatak), (4) Motion, interaction and growth of domains in vesicle membranes.
Sumit Basu, PhD (IISc Bangalore)
Associate Professor
Research Interests: Computational Micromechanics, Fracture Mechanics, Modelling of Materials across length scales, Finite deformation theories and Non-linear FEM.
Email: sbasu[AT]iitk.ac.in
Ph: +91-512-259-7506 (O)
Website: http://home.iitk.ac.in/~sbasu
We work in the broad area of computational materials science. This involves understanding the deformation and fracture behaviour of different classes of materials or material combinations under practically relevant loading situations. We use simulation tools ranging from non-linear Finite Element methods and meshfree techniques to classical Molecular Dynamics.A large part of our efforts are directed towards identifying links between the molecular architecture of amorphous glassy polymers and polymer blends to their macroscopic mechanical and thermal properties, ageing behaviour as well as fracture micromechanisms like crazing. We have recently started on in-situ electron microscopic studies (in collaboration with Dr P Venkitanarayanan's group) of fracture in polymers with a view to better understand the micromechanics of their failure. In collaboration with Dr N Nair (of Chemistry, IITK) we are in the process of devising techniques to better inform our classical MD codes with architectural details of the polymers we are studying. We also work on polymer matrix nanocomposites and treat them as systems within which many of the idealised 'toy' simulation situations like polymers confined between rigid walls, interactions between polymer chains and an inorganic substrate etc. shed their 'academic' garb and attain important practical significance. These include polymer nanocomposites with surface modified nano-spheres as well as nanotubes. Defect controlled yielding and plasticity in metals, enriched continuum models embedding experimentally calibrated interface behaviour and interactions between electrostatic fields and soft solids and simulation of fracture (basically shattering) of solids under ultra-high strain rates are the other areas where we are working actively with various other groups (Dr S Sangal MME IITK, Dr M S Bobji, ME IISc Bangalore, Dr N Gupta, EE, IITK, Dr J Sarkar, ChE, IITD). The group presently has 9 PhD students and collaborates actively both within and outside IITK. Several projects centred around the topics mentioned above have been completed and are being pursued. Industries like Danone, GE Research and Boeing have worked with us actively. We work with the broad philosophy that better understanding of the multi-faceted physics of deformation and fracture at various scales may obviate the need to perform huge, expensive simulations. Also, understanding at various length and time scales may not always fit with each other seamlessly but merely provide pointers that inform and provide better parametrisation of models at higher scales. In other words, parametric models ('glorified curve fits') are here to stay; the parameters however, need flesh and blood.